We took a recent trip to St Martin and thought we would write a little review about its kiteboarding and atmosphere.
Saint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast, about 186 miles east of Puerto Rico and is split between the Dutch and French. It is the smallest inhabited sea island to be divided between two nations. Most business is transacted on the Dutch side of the island and most kiteboarding spots are on the French side. The airport is on the Dutch side and has runway that ends/starts at a public beach. This beach is right between two bars so tourists would go get loaded and hang on to the fence while 757′s took off and landed. When the planes took off the sand hit them so hard they would be bleeding and sand would be blow a good 100 yards into the ocean. Crazy!!!
The typical winds blow from the East so the north east part of the island is the best for kiting. A few of the spots are Oriental Bay and Embouchure Bay. I spent most of the trip in Philipsburg with a French couple (Vince and Sandra) aboard “Carolina” their 40′ aluminum sloop. Vince is starting a 6mo sailing adventure around the Caribbean, like any great adventure. He had to make a few “sacrifices” to make it happen one of which being quiting his job (although he did say he can get it back after the 6mo). Anyway, I so jealous of the whole ragtag crew of the “Carolina” including Jean-Philippe whom I only spoke with never met, but will be arriving on the boat soon. Wish them the best of luck with their trip, and hopefully they’ll have lots of wind.
While we were there, the wind was light so no riding to be had, but we talked with some of the local kiteboarders and kiteshops. If you’re traveling there give the shop a ring at 281-508-6485 or email us at houston@xlkites.com and we’ll forward the local kiteboarding info.
Here are some pics from the trip.
February 27, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Awesome stuff. I got to live that kind of life for a few years and I still miss it. One thing though, I was limited in what I kept because space on a boat was at a premium. You really find out what you need and what you don’t.
Questions you ask when shopping include, where and how am I going to fit this.